Social Efforts Research Articles

The Impact of Social Responsibility and Organizational Accountability on the Performance of Public Librarians in Iran

A Review of: Soltani-Nejad, N., Jahanshahi, M., Karim Saberi, M., Ansari, N., & Zarei-Maram, N. (2022). The relationship between social responsibility and public libraries accountability: The mediating role of professional ethics and conscientiousness. Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, 54(2), 306–324. https://doi.org/10.1177/09610006211014260 Objective – To determine how librarians' perceptions of public libraries' social responsibility and accountability within society affect their professional ethics and conscientiousness. Design – Quantitative, survey questionnaire. Setting – Public libraries in Iran. Subjects – Survey respondents (N=362) were public librarians* (see note below). Methods – The authors created a theoretical model based on six separate hypotheses, describing the relationship between the following variables: corporate social responsibility, organizational accountability, professional ethics, and conscientiousness. A questionnaire was distributed to the participants. SPSS 21.0 was used for the analysis of demographic data and SMART PLS 3.0 was used to assess the theoretical model. Main Results – The results show a significant, positive, and direct relationship between the variables being studied (corporate social responsibility, organizational accountability, professional ethics, and conscientiousness), therefore confirming the relevance of the authors’ theoretical model. Conclusion – The results of this study demonstrate the importance of promoting the social responsibility and organizational accountability efforts of public libraries. The data suggest that doing so will strengthen the positive perception of the library amongst employees, which will in turn have a positive effect on their professional ethics and conscientiousness. The authors suggest that library managers need to create a culture of accountability and ethics within libraries. They can do so by incorporating ethics and social responsibility in decision-making and policies. Additionally, the authors propose that professional ethics training in library curricula and continuing education would provide librarians with the knowledge necessary when encountering ethical dilemmas on the job.

Welfare as flourishing social reproduction: Polish and Ukrainian migrant workers in a market-participation society

The historical link between labour and welfare is increasingly considered in the transnational register, largely because labour mobilities demand a rethinking of nation-based social protection systems. Transnational labour mobilities also illuminate other dimensions of boundary-crossing, including formality–informality, citizenship–non-citizenship and production–reproduction. These additional considerations call for going beyond the problem of transnational welfare access. We argue that the prism of social reproduction enables such a rethinking of the labour–welfare relationship. In this article, we conceptualise an expanded notion of welfare as flourishing social reproduction, in contradistinction to the principle of welfare deriving primarily from paid work and labour market participation. We apply this theorisation of welfare to our qualitative case study of the experiences and interests of Polish and Ukrainian migrant workers in Germany, Poland and the United Kingdom employed in care provision, food production and housing construction sectors. In the geopolitical setting of uneven and combined Europe, embodying high levels of differentiation together with advanced transnational social protection, we explore the role of differentiation of migrants in labour markets (along work, migration and citizenship axes) and the extent to which transnational mobility facilitates the improvement of social reproduction. While the low-waged labour of Polish and Ukrainian men and women working in care, food and housing furnishes their own and local workers’ social reproduction needs, we find that migrant workers’ welfare as flourishing social reproduction remains wanting, even for those with already privileged access to the current ‘gold-standard’ transnational social protection offered by the EUs freedoms of movement framework. Welfare remains centred on individualised paid work logic, leaving a vast range of needs unmet and work and workers excluded, bearing implications for prevalent transnational social protection efforts.

Visitors’ eco-innovation adoption and green consumption behavior: the case of green hotels

PurposeGreen hospitality studies have not adequately focused on the diffusion of eco-innovative hotels amongst visitors. This study aims to fill this gap by identifying green hotel attributes that influence visitors’ adoption of eco-friendly hotel and their intentions to partake in green initiatives.Design/methodology/approachThe paper uses a mixed-method approach to explore the drivers of customers’ green hotel adoption and consumption. In the qualitative phase, data were collected via 20 open-ended interviews and analyzed to derive a measurement scale. The scale was then tested through a survey comprising 500 respondents using structural equation modelling.FindingsThe study results elucidate how guests’ visit intentions and green consumption behavior is built through their perception of newness and uniqueness of eco-innovative attributes. Findings shed light on how green hotel’s sustainable communication and corporate social responsibility outreach efforts positively influence guest visit intentions.Research limitations/implicationsStudy results reveal perceived eco-innovativeness as an important antecedent of visit intentions. Based on guest’s preferences, green hotels striving to increase its visitors’ base could begin by expanding their eco-innovative attributes.Originality/valueContrasting previous studies that have exclusively used the theory of planned behavior constructs, this study argues that diffusion of innovation constructs also offer valuable insights into guests’ visit intentions. While existing studies have covered limited number of eco-innovative attributes, this study adds to the literature by presenting a comprehensive set of attributes including trustworthiness of communication and observability of its social impacts.

AMWA Annual Financial Report, 2021-2022

Following is AMWA’s financial report for the 2021-2022 fiscal year, which ended June 30, 2022. 
 This past year has been successful in many ways (membership growth, successful virtual events, continued engagement of medical writing executives, support for the value of medical writing projects, new D&I initiative, etc.) We continued to enhance marketing and social media efforts and implement new strategies to promote programs. We exceeded income for almost all our revenue generating programs by creating valuable and timely content, resources, and member benefits. Based on the number of attendees and positive evaluation results, we had a very successful 2021 virtual Annual Conference. The evaluation results for this event were overwhelmingly positive, and we exceeded all income categories.

THE EFFECTIVENESS OF MANAGEMENT OF SOCIAL PROBLEMS OF BEGGERS, VARIETIES, AND INDEPENDENT PERSONS IN CENTRAL JAVA SOCIAL SERVICES

The Unemployment, Homeless, and Abandoned Persons (PGOT) in Central Java Province in the period 2020-2021 has decreased but what happened at the PGOT Social Service Orphanage Mardi Utomo repeated that PGOT had received training back into the orphanage because they could not be independent. The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of PGOT management in Central Java through the Social Service of Central Java Province. This study used a qualitative descriptive research method through direct interviews with ASN in the Social Service and Mardi Utomo PGOT Social Service Institutions. The results of the research, social rehabilitation efforts at the Mardi Utomo Home are still not maximized, as a result beggars, homeless people and abandoned people in Central Java Province even return to the streets & decide to return to the orphanage so that their lives are guaranteed by the state when coaching in the orphanage

Social Cohesion Efforts in Türkiye and Syrians under the Temporary Protection

Social Cohesion Efforts in Türkiye and Syrians under the Temporary Protection

Business Responses Towards Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainable Development Goals During Covid-19 Pandemic

Objective: In India, incorporating structural transformation in corporate social responsibility for achieving sustainable development goals in the Covid-19 Pandemic has become a priority. Therefore, the present article aims to review the corporate social responsibility activities conducted by Nine Indian companies (two public sector organizations and seven private sector organizations) towards attaining Sustainable Development Goals in times of global pandemic.
 
 To explore CSR activities performed by the Indian companies (both public and private) in recent times of crisis of covid-19.
 To assess the impact of Covid-19 on the economic, social, and technological environment of Indian Companies in recent times.
 
 
 Method: For our research, we chose India since it was one of the earliest and worst-hit countries during the recent pandemic. Even though huge Asian corporations are a minority, It is a good fit for our study goal for various reasons. Less and medium-sized businesses, on the other hand, have a far smaller influence on society, Due to their prominence in the press, clients or consumers are more likely to provide feedback if they are proactive. As a second point, major companies have greater resources (e.g., human and financial) to spend on reporting and distributing social and environmental information. The existing study applied bibliometric analysis in the exploratory research. The data collection done through secondary sources in which articles extracted with the use of PRISMA flowchart.
 
 Result: The study's findings state that most selected Indian Companies spend Rupees 50-1000 crores as corporate social responsibility activities and contribute to the Pradhan Mantri Relief Fund as a business response to face challenges in times of pandemic. Moreover, private companies spend more on CSR activities than public companies in India. The study provides suggestions to the government to make the corporate social responsibility activities compulsory for all the profitable companies so that country can maintain a corporate pool of contingent funds that can utilize to meet such times of critical circumstances.
 
 Conclusion: Companies are taking steps to ensure the safety and protection of their personnel. This has been reflected in corporate social responsibility initiatives as well. Corporate social responsibility efforts must include pushing for and facilitating access to health insurance programmes and other equity indicators as a result.

An investigation on consumers' preferences for parcel deliveries: applying consumer logistics in omni-channel shopping

PurposeOmni-channel shopping affords consumers a variety of delivery options to receive products based on their preferred times and locations. By considering consumers' contributions (physical, social and attentive efforts) in co-creating delivery services, this study investigates their preferences for parcel delivery.Design/methodology/approachA scenario-based questionnaire survey is conducted for data collection in Singapore (n = 483). Furthermore, a multinomial logistic regression is performed to assess consumers' choice mode of delivery among five alternatives, that is attended home delivery, unattended home delivery, automated self-collection locker, attended pickup point and click-and-collect.FindingsCompared to attended home delivery, consumers who choose the alternatives are found to be more willing to contribute physical effort but less interested in responding attentively to informational updates. Efforts required for social interactions discourage consumers from choosing attended deliveries, prompting unattended alternatives (e.g. home delivery and self-collection) as more attractive choices. Additionally, socio-demographic factors and product value also influence consumers' preferences.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the literature by integrating the theoretical concept of consumer logistics into omni-channel studies, providing a new approach to examining consumers' channel behaviour. With detailed profiling that links product value and consumers' socio-demographics to their choice mode of delivery, the authors create practical insight into the optimal design of omni-channel distribution systems that best harness consumers' voluntary contributions.

Unveiling the Potential of Social Media Marketing in Enhancing E-Marketplace Performance

This paper provides a comprehensive exploration of the transformative role of social media marketing in the dynamics of e-marketplaces. It theorizes the multi-faceted potential of social media in elevating business performance by harnessing customer engagement, driving traffic, and fostering brand loyalty. Employing a synthesis of prior studies, industry reports, and real-world examples, the paper proposes a conceptual model linking social media strategies to key performance indicators in e-marketplaces. This model aims to guide businesses and marketers in strategizing and optimizing their social media efforts to catalyze sustainable growth and success in the rapidly evolving digital commerce landscape.

Inclusive Urban Mining: An Opportunity for Engineering Education

With the understanding that the mining industry is an important and necessary part of the production chain, we argue that the future of mining must be sustainable and responsible when responding to the increasing material demands of the current and next generations. In this paper, we illustrate how concepts, such as inclusiveness and the circular economy, can come together in new forms of mining—what we call inclusive urban mining—that could be beneficial for not only the mining industry, but for the environmental and social justice efforts as well. Based on case studies in the construction and demolition waste and WEEE (or e-waste) sectors in Colombia and Argentina, we demonstrate that inclusive urban mining could present an opportunity to benefit society across multiple echelons, including empowering vulnerable communities and decreasing environmental degradation associated with extractive mining and improper waste management. Then, recognizing that most engineering curricula in this field do not include urban mining, especially from a community-based perspective, we show examples of the integration of this form of mining in engineering education in first-, third- and fourth-year design courses. We conclude by providing recommendations on how to make inclusive urban mining visible and relevant to engineering education.

Unlocking the dual black box of GHRMP & EGOC for sustainable environmental performance in developing economies: can green workplace behavior and green passion transmit the real change?

In recent years, there has been a growing emphasis on environmental sustainability, resulting in the emergence of Green Human Resource Management (GHRM) practices. Studies have shown that the implementation of GHRM practices can enhance a company's Environmental Performance (EP) and promote the development of Enablers of Green Organizational Culture (EGOC), which can ultimately lead to sustained improvements in environmental performance over the long term. However, there is still a lack of research on Green Workplace Behavior (GWB) and Green Passion (GP). To address this gap, a study was conducted on a large-scale sample of 308 pharmaceutical workers. The study examined the dual mediation impact of major facilitators of Green Organization Culture and GWB on GHRM, and the regulation of GP. Smart Pls 3.0 was used for analyzing the measurement and structural model. The findings indicate that the dual mediation of EGOC and GWB, along with the regulation of GP, significantly enhances the EP levels of organizations. These findings have significant implications for pharmaceutical company managers who are interested in developing strategic HR strategies for sustainable development. The study's results provide guidance on how managers can motivate their employees to engage in green initiatives in their daily activities, and GHRM practices offer a practical way to enhance EP and sustainable development. However, the contribution of Human Resource Management to sustainable development remains limited in the literature. Therefore, it is important for businesses to recognize the significance of environmental sustainability and adopt GHRM practices to improve their EP levels. The environment and natural resources around the world have been severely impacted by the aggressive growth of human economic expansion, and there is an urgent need for social efforts to address this situation. The adoption of GHRM practices can help businesses to develop specialized skills and enhance their contribution to sustainable development. The literature suggests that GHRM practices are a viable and practical solution to enhance environmental performance and promote sustainable development.

Legacies of Resistance and Resilience: Antebellum Free African Americans and Contemporary Minority Social Control in the Northeast

Abstract To understand the persistence of racial disparities in the United States, inequality scholars have increasingly focused attention on historic regimes of violence and social control. In particular, a burgeoning literature examines the legacy of slavery, generally finding that where slavery was deeply entrenched, today racial inequalities and African-American deprivation are more acute. However, taking seriously the notion that history matters means considering not only the lingering effects of dehumanizing social control institutions like slavery but also the ramifications of antebellum institutions and cultures of resistance and resilience African Americans built for survival. Using quantitative methods, I examine the relationship between antebellum free African-American populations and racial inequalities in modern state-sanctioned social control. Focusing on the understudied Northeast, a region where free African-American communities flourished despite coexisting with slavery, I find that where free African Americans were more prevalent—and, thus, resistance to White’s social control efforts and resilience in the face of White hostility more robust—those same areas today display reduced levels of racial inequality in social control (i.e., lower Black–White arrest rate disparities) and reduced absolute levels of minority social control (i.e., lower African-American arrest rates). Mediation analyses reveal contemporary civil rights infrastructure, Black congregations, and Black political power operate as structural safeguards and are important components of the legacies of resistance and resilience left by free African Americans.

Creating an Interactive Urban Traffic System for the Simulation of Different Traffic Scenarios

The social and political efforts to fight climate change have contributed to a re-thinking of traffic systems, especially in urban areas under constant transformation. To simulate and visualize planning scenarios of urban traffic systems in a realistic way, the possibilities of virtual 3D environments have regularly been used. The modern potentials of (immersive) virtual reality, however, still require exploration, evaluation, and further development. Using the game engine Unity, an immersive virtual environment was developed to visualize and experience dynamic traffic conditions of a highly dense urban area. The case study is based on the characteristic model of a Central European city (not a representation of a real city), which brings together the specific considerations of urban traffic, such as mirroring the complex interplay of pedestrians as well as individual and public transport. This contribution has an applied methodological focus and considers possibilities as well as difficulties in the design of a reliably running (open-end) traffic system. The applied tool for the creation of a modular and customizable traffic system in Unity resulted in a traffic system that is capable of reacting to the individual behavior of the user (including the individualized motion of the avatar), without leading to accidents or uncorrectable traffic jams. Therefore, the tool used could be a valuable option for any developer of immersive virtual environments in Unity to equip these immersive virtual environments with a traffic system, without the use of additional third-party software.

Academic Activism: An Avenue to Action

Until now, the term “advocacy” in pharmacy education and practice has focused on advocating for the advancement of the pharmacy profession or patient advocacy. With the 2022 Curricular Outcomes and Entrustable Professional Activities publication, the focus of advocacy has broadened to include advocacy for other causes that impact the health of patients. This commentary will highlight 3 pharmacy-focused organizations advocating for social issues impacting the health of patients as well as encourage members of the Academy to continue to expand personal social advocacy efforts.

Availability Versus Accessibility: Identifying COVID-19 Testing Deserts Across Massachusetts.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, communities of color have faced significantly higher rates of COVID-19 infection, as well as poor clinical outcomes. These differences are driven by long-standing structural inequities that prevent effective social distancing efforts and are further exacerbated by disparities in COVID-19 testing. Our study applied the concept of "COVID-19 testing deserts" to systematically identify gaps in testing resource allocation across Massachusetts in May 2020 and March 2021. Testing deserts were identified at the census tract level, using criteria developed by the Department of Agriculture for food deserts. Testing deserts occurred more frequently in segregated Hispanic, segregated Black, mixed minority, and integrated communities, as well as in neighborhoods with low vehicle access and in federally designated Medically Underserved Areas. Segregated communities were those in which more than 50percent of the population self-identified as non-Hispanic White, Hispanic, non-Hispanic Black, or non-Hispanic Asian, respectively. Testing deserts were overrepresented in counties with high COVID-19 incidence rates, suggesting that testing accessibility is essential for prompt COVID-19 diagnosis and self-isolation.

“Une imprimerie, c’est comme un théâtre”: Victor Roger’s Thomas l’imprimeur (1843)

Thomas l’imprimeur, an 1843 drame mêlé de chansons by Victor Roger, took advantage of vaudeville conventions, which relied on language with multiple meanings and physical comedy, to comment on the Tarif of 1843, an agreement that Parisian printers and print-shop owners had made about establishing uniform rates for typesetting and composition. By reading Thomas with the Mémoires of Joseph Mairet, one of the printers involved in negotiating the Tarif, we can account for the play’s generic fluidity. The vaudeville-style opening scene prepares audiences for a degree of critical distance that allows them to see the Tarif behind a plot that acts it out rather than speaking of it, and the melodramatic virtue of the printer hero invites admiration for the social efforts print workers are making. Both approaches show the physical heroism of printers, whether or not they speak directly of the forms that heroism has taken most recently.

Not Graffiti, but Style-Writing: The (Un)worlding of New York’s Street Networks and the (Re)worlding of the Three Train Yard

How might a city know its people? And, how might people know their city, as their self or as their other? Each numerical edifice of course erases the knowability of some, to render the knowability of others. This essay examines the long-term effects of mid-century development strategies in New York City, specifically the ways in which urban planners used forced relocation practices, and the ways in which these practices led to urban decay. Here we will see that the city’s strategic, and often disingenuous, use of data led to the disappearance of city inhabitants from the city’s archives. With these strategies in mind, this essay outlines the ways in which city governance procedures functioned in aesthetic terms, rendering the city’s grid as an ethereal medium ready for remaking. These development practices led to a catastrophic decay of social networks. Most notably perhaps, we find the disappearance and reappearance of entire city streets from both the physical reality of urban space and also the archives of the city, here the metropolitan government lost control of that grid when urban decay encroached too strongly. We find that world and map-making succumb to their own discontents, as the source of that urban decay can be seen to be sourced from the urban development practices. Yet, for all these de-worldings and decays, the life of New York emerges, this time from the subway tunnels neglected by the metropolitan government. The artist Phase II teaches us that the word “graffiti” is the wrong word for the aesthetics that animated the world of the street’s grid, and transformed the possible use of the subway, to now serve as a communication device, rather than only one of transportation. This aesthetics was not a deleterious scrawl, but self-identified by the artists as “Style-Writing”. We will see that the subway network in fact functioned as an opportunity for young people to grow robust cultural connections, connections which often crossed the segregating boundaries established by mid-century urban development. Quite different from the perception of subway art as a signal of the city’s vicissitudes, here we find that Style-Writing became a key tool for the social efforts of young people seeking to reconstruct an urban world. Specifically, we will turn to the work of Skeme and his artist crews, such as the Three Yard Boys, at Lenox subway station.

Changes in credit score, transaction volume, customer characteristics, and the probability of detecting suspicious transactions

PurposeThis study aims to use a unique customer-information data set from a Norwegian bank to identify how small changes in firm-specific factors correlate with the risk of a client subsequently being involved in suspicious transactions. It provides insight into the importance of updating client risk based on changes in transaction volume and credit risk to enable effective resource use in transaction monitoring.Design/methodology/approachChanges in a firm’s bank use and accounting data were tested against subsequent flagged and reported customers to identify which changes led to a significant increase in the probability of engaging in a transaction identified as suspicious. Prioritizing resources to firms that remain suspicious after further controls can improve the risk-based approach and prioritize detection efforts. The main factors were customer probability of default (credit score), size and changes in customer characteristics. The cross-sectional data set contained administrative data on 8,538 corporate customers (219 with suspicious transactions that were subsequently flagged, 64 of which were reported). A binomial logit model was used.FindingsChanges in transaction volume and bank use are significant in predicting subsequent suspicious transactions. Customer credit score changes were significantly positively correlated with the likelihood of flagging and reporting. Change is a stronger indicator of suspicious transactions than the level. Thus, frequent updating of client risk and using a scale rather than risk categories can improve client risk monitoring. The results also showed that the current anti-money laundering (AML) system is size-dependent; the greater the change in customer size, the greater the probability of the firm subsequently engaging in a suspicious transaction.Research limitations/implicationsClient risk classification, monitoring changes in a client’s use of the bank and business risk should receive more attention.Practical implicationsThe authors demonstrate that client risk classifications should be dynamic and sensitive to even small changes, including monitoring the client’s credit risk changes.Social implicationsDirecting AML efforts to clients with characteristics indicating risk and monitoring changes in factors contributing to risk can increase efficiency in detecting money laundering.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to focus on changes in a firm's use of a bank and link this to the probability of detecting a suspicious transaction.

Mental Health Service Program (SEJIWA): Policy Innovation for Family Resilience as Social Recovery during the Covid-19 Pandemic

The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic is multidimensional. It was not only limited to health sectors, but also to socio-cultural sectors. The Covid-19 Pandemic crisis has increased mental health risks for people of all ages, including children and parents in Indonesia. In an effort to overcome this, the central government of the Republic of Indonesia has released the Mental Health Service Program (SEJIWA) which has received enthusiasm from the community. This research uses qualitative research methods with a literature study approach and Actor Network Theory (ANT) on SEJIWA Services and the concept of Mental Health Policy. The purpose of this research is to develop an innovative SEJIWA Family Care Program which aims to assist families in carrying out their roles and functions and establish appropriate regularity in daily activities. The results of this study indicate that the SEJIWA Family Care Program in the Actor Network-Theory (ANT) review shows that innovation in strengthening family resilience in Indonesia has shown a collective movement of many actors involved, but these efforts need to continue to be strengthened through evaluation and improvement of services that increasingly focus on the governmental policy to relationships and emotions in the family as the most micro sphere of development in the framework of social recovery efforts in the post-Covid-19 pandemic in Indonesia.

The changes in smoking stigmatization during the COVID-19 pandemic

ObjectivesThis study aimed to analyze the changes in smoking stigmatization in relation to an individual's smoking status after the COVID-19 outbreak. Study designA 2 (before vs. after COVID-19) X 2 (smoking status: smoker vs. non-smoker) factorial design was developed. MethodsTwo national surveys were conducted, one each before (between January 7th and 15th, 2020) and after (between January 26th and February 18th, 2021) the COVID-19 outbreak in South Korea. A total of 7296 representative adult responses were finalized. Respondents were categorized into two groups: non-smokers and smokers. Smoking stigma was measured in two ways: social and personal. ResultsIn general, smoking stigmatization intensified after the COVID-19 outbreak. However, there was a discrepancy in responses based on smoking status—non-smokers exhibited a heightened negative stigma toward smokers, whereas smokers had generous perspectives about themselves. ConclusionsThe health-oriented environment generated by the response to COVID-19 is leading to increased stigmatization of smokers who pose a risk to public health. However, the discrepancy between smokers and non-smokers shows that social efforts are required to alter smokers’ generous views about themselves and to persuade them to cease smoking.